New Online Site At Getty

Getty Images Inc. has redesigned gettyimages.com, in an effort to increase scalability and efficiencyfor the company as well as provide significant benefits to online customers worldwide. The companygenerates nearly half its revenue on the Web, and expects the percentage to increase steadily despitethe fact that in recent quarters it has seemed to plateau at just under 50%.

When finally completed in the middle of 2002, gettyimages.com and its accompanying back-end systemswill result in:

Single site customer access to the best still and moving imagery and services across allbrands and products, including stock photography, news, sports and entertainment, all atgettyimages.com;

A unified view for the company of its customers, allowing it to serve, sell and market tocustomers more effectively; and

The realization of the efficiencies of integrating all the acquired businesses into one Web site,one sales order processing system, Oracle financials, a single real-time rights control environment,one customer database and localization of language and currencies.

'With the launch of gettyimages.com, we have completed the most difficult and costly aspects of thisinitiative," said Jonathan Klein, Getty Images CEO. 'The integration of the largest part of ourbusiness, rights-managed images, has been completed, along with establishing the technology, businessprocess, finance systems and customer interface platform for the continued transformation of the wholeof our business."

It is worth noting that in the past quarter during the transition to this new system sales and many ofthe payment reports sent to VCG photographers have not included royalties for overseas sales. As aresult Getty found it necessary to review all the data and write additional checks to each VCGphotographer entitled to royalty payments from overseas sales. Getty expects to catch up in thereporting on the sales made this summer's with the reports that will be dated 31 October and 30November.

Consolidation Provides Increased Efficiencies

In addition to enabling the company to transition from multiple technology and finance systems andplatforms to one scalable Web architecture, this company-wide initiative includes the transition to onecentralized sales order processing system, one integrated accounting system and one master customerdatabase. This will allow the company to maximize its sales and service resources and service itscustomers more effectively. The company anticipates that this consolidation effort will result insignificant operating cost and capital efficiencies over the next year.

'The launch of gettyimages.com is a watershed event as we continue to build a world class industryleader in visual communications," said Klein. 'From an operational perspective, the new functionalitywill revolutionize the way Getty Images runs its business. From a customer perspective, gettyimages.comsimply makes it easier, faster and more hassle free for our customers to find the right images andproduce striking, provocative and meaningful communications."

New Features

Gettyimages.com, includes the fully localized gettyimages.co.uk, gettyimages.fr, and gettyimages.de.The French and German sites will be searchable in the local languages and it will be possible to maketransactions in the local currencies. Getty expects this full e-commerce capability to revive Europeansales which had been falling off in recent quarters.

According to Getty the site is designed around the needs and wants of creative professionals and offersimproved efficiencies, added creative resources and services that will save customers time and money.The features include:

International language and currency capabilities: Customers can now search for and purchaseimagery and related materials in US English, UK English, French and German. The site transacts indollars, Euros and British pounds. Purchases in France and Germany are in Euros, with the invoicetranslated into local currency as well.

-- Efficient and flexible licensing tools: gettyimages.com offers simplified licensing bygiving customers the ability to license multiple images simultaneously and purchase exclusive imagelicenses on-line. Customers can save time by licensing an image for multiple uses in multipleterritories on one invoice.

-- New tools to organize, present, commission and license imagery allowing customers to organizeimagery in online workspaces and e-mail the images to clients and colleagues. Professionals can alsocommission photographers and obtain rights and clearances online.

Jim Pickerell is founder of www.selling-stock.com, an online newsletter that publishes daily. He is also available for personal telephone consultations on pricing and other matters related to stock photography. He occasionally acts as an expert witness on matters related to stock photography. For his current curriculum vitae go to: http://www.jimpickerell.com/Curriculum-Vitae.aspx.

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